This would be a fantastic signing
N’Golo Kante is tipped for a return to the Premier League as West Ham enter race to sign the midfielder from Al-Ittihad.
Kante moved to Saudi Arabia in 2023 after seven years at Chelsea and though he’s said to be happy at his current club, is open to moving back to London.
Negotiations between Julen Lopetegui’s side and the Saudi club are ongoing but West Ham will have to find somewhere in the region of £20m for the 33-year-old.
West Ham are looking for a replacement for Kalvin Phillips who failed to impress during his loan spell from Manchester City and the deal was not made permanent.
Lopetegui is a long-time admirer of Kante and wanted to sign the midfielder during his time at Real Madrid.
The Hammers were in the running to sign Aleix Garcia but he chose to join Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Kante also enjoyed a spell at Premier League side Leicester prior to moving to Stamford Bridge where he helped his side win the Premier League in 2016.
With Chelsea he won the Champions League, FA Cup and Europa League and was named the PFA Player of the Year in 2016/17.
The French midfielder, who has 61 caps for his country, impressed at Euro 2024 despite losing to Spain in the semi-finals. He would bring a great deal of valuable experience to West Ham.
After taking over from David Moyes at the end of the season, Lopetegui has already boosted his squad with the addition of Max Kilman, Luis Guilherme and Wes Foderingham.
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